4 Out of the Box HIIT Cardio Workouts That Burn Fat

You love to HIIT and I love to HIIT, but are there a few overlooked options outside of sprints and burpees? Heck to the yes.

In this article, I'll detail a handful of HIIT workouts that I personally don't see practiced often, if at all.

4 HIIT Workouts You Need to Try

#1 - Speed Time Under Tension Curls

Speed TUT curls is actually a HIIT workout I myself created. This move is to be performed with a semi-thick resistance band (Ex. TRX X-heavy style resistance band) to keep tension constant throughout the duration of a set.

Range of motion will be restricted here but that's essentially the point. You'll be primarily catering to the shorter head of the bicep, aside from ramping up your heart rate and stripping away body fat. You will be curling as fast as you can from the beginning of the set to the very end.

#2 - Speed Clean and Jerks With Snatch

These are something I've seen a lot of in CrossFit, but not so much in those practicing fitness outside of boxes and the games on ESPN.

This is a workout that works EVERYTHING, from the crown of your noggin' to the nails on your toes. This lift will certainly give you some constructive hell.

Now I'm not suggesting you load a ridiculous amount of weight on to the bar here. It would, of course, hinder overall performance. But do use a challenging, manageable amount.

By "speed" I'm referring to putting some extra giddy up into your pace. I'd even suggest developing a cadence to help. Try counting to 3 in between reps.

I'm not at all sure how others perform their HIIT, but I would recommend finishing out a session with this type of exercise. The blunt trauma it will definitely bring may not be smart to start out a session with.

#3 - Speed Deadifts

Not only is this a HIIT workout that you can perform in a routine, fixed training program, but if you really want to get gnarly with your HIIT use it there as well.

Granted the weight used will be lower than strength pulls but don't tear it down TOO low. You still want a formidable opponent there on the floor.

When I use speed deads as a form of HIIT, I'll keep the reps around 15 at the lowest because anything below that is just not fun to me. Also, don't get all bent out of shape if your form starts to diminish a little throughout a set because to be frank. All that "perfect" style lifting goes away when you're really sticking it to the iron.

Make sure that when you're utilizing either this or speed clean and jerks with snatch as a choice of HIIT, you're giving yourself enough rest time in-between sets to recover. Mess around and try to go at a set of speed deadlifts with only 20 seconds of rest and you may end up folded like a lawn chair when all is said and done. We don't want any that.

#4 - Jumping Jack Pyramid

I'd say this option is perfect for women that are starting out their fitness journey. It's not incredibly brutal, but it is effective. Males in the same boat can also use this workout.

As opposed to performing a normal set of reps associated with jumping jacks, you're going to tailor them to a set amount of time (very similar to the speed TUT curls) but there is a twist. The amount of time you choose to do the jumping jacks for will also be the amount of time you will be ultimately resting for.

For example, if I were to do jumping jacks for 50 seconds, then afterward I'm resting for 50 seconds. Not only that though, but you'll be formatting it in pyramid form up and down to make it an even greater challenge. The sets will look something like this:

1 minute / rest 1 minute

50 seconds / rest 50 seconds

40 seconds / rest 40 seconds

30 seconds / rest 30 seconds

30 seconds / rest 30 seconds

40 seconds / rest 40 seconds

50 seconds / rest 50 seconds

...and then 1 minute to finish.

Jumping jacks alone are extremely easy but I figured making it into something like this caters to both increasing the heart rate in accordance with HIIT and something that isn't too hard to do in totality.

Alright guys, if you see any exercises here that you have not tried have at it, and let me know how it goes!

Maurice Bright's primary mission is to encourage people to get out there and better themselves, no matter how they do it. You only get one body my friends, so treat it with the utmost respect and train smart.

* Tiger Fitness does not imply any medical advice in this article. There are no guarantees of specific results and results may vary. Please consult your family Dr. before starting any diet or training program.